March 30 - April 07, 2012
Tour cost includes all mentioned activities, dinners and two breakfasts. Lunch is at your expense.

March 30 (Friday)
3.45pm ------- Check in at Virgin America, #796 departs departs SEATAC at 5.45pm and arrives in Los Angeles at 8.15pm. Connect to #114 departs LAX at 10.05pm and arrives in Washington Dulles at 5.45am on March 31. Meet Plymouth and Brockton bus.

March 31 (Saturday)
6.30am ------ Early arrival in Washington. Breakfast at your expense
8.00am ------ Arrive at Mount Vernon for a tour of the grounds and museum of George Washington's home.
11.00am ----- Visit Smithsonian Museums!
4.00pm ------ Check into the Capitol Holiday Inn.
6.00pm ------ Dinner at Vie de France
7.30pm ------ Evening walk to see Lincoln, Viet Nam, World War 2 Memorials and the Washington Monument.

Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C Street, SW, Washington DC 20024. Tel: 202-479-4000

April 1 (Sunday)
6.30am ------- Breakfast at Vie De France.
7.30am ------- Board bus for guided tour to include Jefferson, FDR and Iwo Jima Memorials. We will see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Kennedy Gravesites.
Noon -------  Tour ends and there will be time for further visits to Smithsonian Museums, the Newseum or the Holocaust Memorial.
5.30pm ------- Dinner at Vie De France.
7.00pm ------- Board bus for the Kennedy Centre. Dress code is smart casual.
8.00pm ------- Showtime - "Shear Madness"
10.30pm ------ Return by bus after the show

Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C Street, SW, Washington DC 20024. Tel: 202-479-4000

April 2 (Monday)
6.30am ------- Continental breakfast at Vie De France
7.00am ------- Bring luggage to the bus
7.30am ------- Depart for Philadelphia
10.30am  ------- Arrive in Philadelphia at the Constitution Center.
11.00am -------Enjoy the introductory film with a live actor and then visit the interactive exhibits and then onto the Liberty Bell.
1.00pm ------ Lunch at the Bourse Building or other sites arranged by chaperones. (Your expense).
2.00pm   ------ Reserved tour at Independence Hall,
3.00pm -------Return to the buses at the Constitution Center and depart for New York City.
5.00pm ------ Arrive in New York and check into the Edison Hotel.
7.00pm ------ Dinner at John's Shanghai, 166 West 46th Street
7.30pm ------ Evening walk in New York City to Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Avenue and Times Square.
9.15pm ------ Arrive at GE Building to visit the Top of the Rock for a superb view of New York City.

Edison Hotel, 228 W. 47th Street, New York, NY 10035. Tel: 212-840-5000

April 3 (Tuesday)
8.00am ------- Board bus for guided tour of the Big Apple. Drive uptown for a walking tour of Central Park. Stop also at St John the Divine Cathedral ($2 donation please) Drive downtown to see Greenwich Village, Little Italy and Chinatown. We will also stop to see the site of the former World Trade Towers and the September 11 Museum (according to ticket availability)
1.00pm ------- Tour ends. We will split into counselor groups for sightseeing and shopping.
5.00pm ------- Dinner at the Olive Garden, 2 Times Square.
7.00pm ------- Broadway Show
After the show, purchase your subway pass for the next day!

Edison Hotel, 228 W. 47th Street, New York, NY 10035. Tel: 212-840-5000

April 4 (Wednesday)
7.30am ------- Walk to 50th Street subway station. We take the #1 train to South Ferry ($4.00 needed for fare card)
9.15am ------- Catch the Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Please note that  we will not be able to go inside the Statue, but we will take a group picture.
12.30pm------ Walk through historic Battery Park and embark on afternoon free time activities, arranged with chaperones. Visit Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bridge and/or subway uptown to museums, Central Park, 5th Ave or fun and famous sites.
4.45pm ------- Return to the hotel to change clothes
5.30pm ------- Dinner at Trattoria dopa Teatro on 44th Street
7.30pm -------  Walk to your Broadway Show, "Memphis" at 225 West 44th Street.
8.00pm ------- Showtime MEMPHIS!

Edison Hotel, 228 W. 47th Street, New York, NY 10035. Tel: 212-840-5000

April 5 (Thursday)
6.00am -------Wake up call. Breakfast at your expense.
7.30am ------- Depart New York City for Plimoth Plantation. Lunch en route
2.00pm ------- Arrive at Plimoth Plantation.
3.30pm ------- Depart Plimoth for the Mayflower.
4.00pm ------- Depart for Boston.
5.00pm ------- Arrive in Boston and check into the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.
3.00pm ------- Check into the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.
4.00pm ------- Walking tour to Quincy Market and return to the hotel by the "T."
7.15pm ------- Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Quincy Market
9.15pm -------  Return to the hotel.

Boston Park Plaza Hotel, 64 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116. Tel: 617-426-2000

April 6 (Friday)
8.30am ------- Meet our guide, Herb for a guided tour of Boston to include downtown Boston, a walk on Beacon Hill, Granary Burial Ground, the Old North Church and a stop for lunch (your expense) in Cambridge to stroll through the grounds of Harvard. After lunch we visit Lexington and Concorde.3.30pm ------- Tour ends at the hotel.
4.15pm -------- Walk to the Charles Playhouse at 74 Warren Street to see "Blue Man Group"
5.00pm ------- "Blue Man Group" Showtime
7.00pm ------- Walk to Fire + Ice (205 Berkeley Street - one block from the hotel).
7.30pm ------- Dinner at Fire and Ice!
9.15pm ------- Walk back to the hotel.

Boston Park Plaza Hotel, 64 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116. Tel: 617-426-2000

April 7 (Saturday)
6.00am ------- Depart for the airport. for Virgin America, #351 departs Boston at 8.35am and arrives in San Francisco at 12.30pm. Change to VA#744 departs at 2.45pm and arrives in Seattle at 4.50pm.

Thank you for traveling with Cameron Tours and special thanks to our teachers who give their Spring Break vacation to travel with their students.

MR GERST'S TRAVEL TIPS

SITES THAT I HOPE WILL GET YOU STARTED, AND JAZZED, AS YOU LOOK FORWARD TO MARCH 30, 2012

Boston:

City of Boston        The Freedom Trail “sampler”; we’ll see most of the places on the list.

The Freedom Trail                                            

Good site for this activity.  Bottom left: click on Map and download and print a 1 page map to take with you on the trip… it’s a good one and will help you navigate the city and orient yourself as we tour…plus it’s great for scrapbooks! J

 USS Constitution:    or    this site:   Old Ironsides       

Minute Man National Historical Park   Where a revolution began

Author’s Ridge at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery     Visit the graves of Alcott, Hawthorne, and yes, Thoreau 

Blue Man Group What can I say?  You’ll love it!

Plimoth Plantation:

Plimouth.org 

What to see and do, and questions to consider before our visit.  At the store you can buy a dvd of the REAL story of their voyage over and the first thanksgiving; I watch it every year; the film uses some of the same actors we’ll see at Plymouth!  There’s also a special walk self-teaching section in the visitors’ center devoted to that cultural interchange.

Mayflower II    See this replica of the pilgrims’ ship before we explore it. 

New York City:

NYC tourist maps                                  

See the map of mid/lower Manhattan & orient yourself. Hotel is just to the left of Times Sq. on 47^th street.  Other great links on this page too!  Try them!, for example:     World Trade Center (Attractions: 6) gives you a great view from what used to be there (I was lucky enough to see these views on April, 01’s trip)    Central Park  GoogleMap of NYC’s 5 burroughs (zoom in! and print)

Brooklyn Bridge     Visit the bridge before you walk on it (if you choose to do so.)

Ellis Island                  

On the top, click on “Ellis Island” and visit the top 3 items! Wow. Get ready for, get more out of, the Ellis Island visit.  We can view an superb movie while there to get some great history, AND EMPATHY.

Grand Central Station  

Restored to its grandeur; beautiful to visit, eat in, etc.  Check out the History tab and the Food!

Rockefeller Center                              

See all the attractions “The Rock” has to offer.  You may even want to get up early for the Today Show!

Click: Tour and Explore, then Observation Tower…or  click Top of the Rock! (skip intro, then drag little red bar to the right for panorama!)        Experience the breathtaking view of NYC… we shall! 

Metropolitan Museum of Art        I love this place and haven’t seen it all yet!

American Museum of Natural History   Spend an “Afternoon at the Museum”  (Perhaps you’ll recognize it from the movie!)

Central Park                                                                    

So much to see and do here.  You can even play chess, rent bikes or go horseback riding!  This site has a great bird’s eye view poster of Central Park so you get an idea of it’s layout.

Times Square Earthcam     our hotel is just a block to the right of Kodak

We’ll take you to this cam so you can call home and wave; they’ll see ya’ and hear ya’ in real time 2500 miles away. The best camera to use is at 46th & Broadway - CAM 2 in front of TGI Friday’s

Guide to New York theatre and Broadway   

New York City Insider: Helpful website with tips for tourists

 Philadelphia:

 download: tourist map   A good map of Philly to orient you, and then get this map for a closeup of Philly’s historic district you can use to plot your day in the area, sites to visit...it’s all walkable (and printable for you planners; only 1 page each)

Constitution Center :                                

The Constitution Center: interactive and self paced with a killer opening presentation!

Independence Hall  Independence Hall, our national capital once.

The Liberty Bell   How did it crack?  Visit the Liberty Bell Center

Washington, D.C.

DC Visitors Map                                         

Access both printable and interactive maps of our nation’s capital

Smithsonian Museums

Use this site to plan your museum visits.  You don’t have time to see them all so a little research will allow you to see what you will most enjoy! Sorry - the American History Museum is newly renovated and very cool.

Holocaust Memorial Museum

For a moving and emotional interactive experience, plan a visit if you wish on Saturday; I note that there are passes available for 12, 12:30, 12:45 right now; that would give you time in our schedule. This is an option for you in lieu of time at a Smithsonian; timed/dated passes are a minimal fee in advance online.  This is your best option if you plan to go.

National Archives

See the documents that have shaped our democracy; “National Treasure” come to mind?

WWII Memorial : If it’s been awhile, here’s the monument you may have missed in DC

 Ford’s Theater Scene of Lincoln’s demise; recently renovated

 Mount Vernon    Part of our tour - Washington’s estate – with a fabulous new visitors’ center

 Arlington Cemetery: We will see the changing of the guard and notable gravesites of important Americans

The Newseum:  The interactive museum of news, this amazing new interactive center.

Shear Madness: Our very fun audience participation play in the nation’s capital.